College head to step down from post

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John Callaghan is set to leave NEW College this summer (s).

THE HEAD of NEW College has announced he is to leave his post later this year.

John Callaghan will stand down as principal of the college in June to take over the reins at nearby Solihull College.

Mr Callaghan has spent four and a half years in charge at NEW College which has campuses in both Redditch and Bromsgrove. Over that time £10million has been invested into improving the college’s facilities including the development of a higher education centre at Osprey House off Albert Street in Redditch and the expansion of the motor vehicle centre and media studio at Bromsgrove.

Success rates have also increased by 12 per cent over the last three years.

His departure comes at a time of uncertainty behind the scenes for the college which is going through the process of a merger with Worcester College of Technology into a much larger organisation, which is likely to be known as Worcestershire College.

But Mr Callaghan said the merger was not a major factor in his decision and he was leaving the college in a strong position for the future.

“When I picked it up the banking crisis had happened and we’d had a decade of very good funding in education and a lot of money was available for capital schemes and then suddenly we had to face the cuts,” he said.

“We are in the process of creating a much bigger Worcestershire College and I’d like to leave a legacy of being in a very strong position to take advantage of that.

“I will miss it, I’ve put a lot of my heart and soul in here so there’s an emotional attachment there as well.

“Over the last few years there’s been a very significant upturn in our fortunes in terms of finance and quality and it’s the staff that have done that not me, they have supported me and allowed me to lead them to create an improved college and I am certain that will continue.”